Polychromatic printing plate



Patented Apr. 30, 1935 POLYCHRQMATIC PRINTING PLATE Serge Tchechonin, Paris, France, assignor to .Samuel Heller, White Plains, N. Y.

No Drawing. Application May "I, 1932, Serial No. 609,994. In France April 15, 1932 4 Claims.

The present invention relates essentially to a printing plate for polychromatic reproduction, chiefly characterized by the fact that it consists in preparing with one or more colouring 5 masses of a single printing plate which may be object or the like which is to be printed upon,

or the printing plate itself, and in applying the said plate against the said object.

According to another feature of the invention, the colouring masses used in the preparation of the printing plate have as the principal ingredient either dextrin, gumlac, artificial or natural tar, etc., contain suitable pigments which are of the current types and have an adequate solvent which may consist of water, steam, alcohol etc.,.

according to the nature of the main ingredient or base.

The desired quantities of these several colouring masses are applied by hand, by a brush, or by other suitable means, in a fluid, semi-fluid, plastic, elastic, hali-hard,'hard, pastel or pencil state, or the like, upon any suitable backing, in order to obtain the pattern or design to be reproduced, thus forming the printing plate.

By the use of thesaidplate, the polychromatic printing is eiiected in a'direct manner and in a single operation, upon articles or objects of all kinds, for instance upon paper, pasteboard, tissues, ceramic objects, etc. In this manner, the ,artists production itself forms the printing plate, and this can be reproduced in any desired number 01 copies. The elastic plate also serves to execute the printing upon objects of all forms, and for instance upon vases.

Further characteristics of the invention will be disclosed in the following description.

In conformity to the invention, a certain number of colouring masses are prepared by preterably employing in all cases the same substance as a basis, with the use of known colouring pigments of all kinds. Such colouring masses may be, as desired, fluid, semi-fluid, elastic, plastic, halfhard, hard or the like. This state of the mass will depend upon the quantity of the solvents employed in its preparation. A fluid mass can be transformed into a plastic mass by treating it for a certain time at a determined temperature in order to eliminate the excess of solvents.

For the preparation of a printing plate, the various masses are employed in the same manner as ordinary colours. The desired amount of each mass is placed by the brush, or directly by hand, or by any other means, upon any suitable backing or support, which may consist of paper, tissue, pasteboard or the like, thus forming the pattern or image which is to bereproduced. The thickness of the layer placed upon the backing auxiliary substances.

may vary at will. When the image is finished it is dried, and may for this purpose be subjected to the action of heat. This forms the printing plate which serves for the polychromatic reproduction.

The tissue, paper or the like, upon which the printing is to be eflected, is covered with a layer of the solvent for the mass forming the basis of the said colouring masses, and the plate is then applied to the said tissue, paper or other. The printing plate itself might be coated with the solvent, whilst the object remains dry. The printing is rapidly efiected, and without requiring the use of fixing agents, mordants or like The printing plate may have a sufllcient thickness to provide for the reproduction of as many copies as desired.

The proper quantities of colouring masses used on the printing plate may as above stated be placed on the latter by hand, by the brush, or in any other manner. The fluid or semi-fluid masses are put on by the brush. As concerns the plastic, elastic, halt-hard, hard or other masses, these are adapted for example to produce certain particular surface effects, such as marbled surfaces, Ioliated surfaces, granular surfaces or the like. The foliated parts 01' the image or pattern may be preliminarily prepared by hand or by machine, and optionally in moulds, and may consist of superposed thin sheets of a plastic substance. The hard mass may be ground, and grains of a uniform or a variable size may be incorporated into the plastic, semi-fluid, fluid or other masses, and this will form the granular parts of the image.

An aqueous mass may have for instance the following composition:

Grams Dextrin l0 Glycerin 10 Soap- 10 Talc 10 Naphthalen 0,5 Water 16 A pigment of any suitable nature, even metal- 110, is added in the proper proportion to produce the desired colour. The mixture is heated on the water-bath to 85-90 C. until a thick mass is formed. The mass is then cooled, and it can be moulded or mechanically treated by any adequate process.

During the printing operation, the printing plate, or the object to be printed upon, should be moistened by water or steam.

An alcoholic mass may for instance have the following composition:

Gum-lac 100 grams Soap 15 do Linseed oil 15 do Egg yolk 10 do Naphthalene 4 do Acetic acid 5 do Glycerin 10 do Alcohol, 90 54; litre Any suitable pigment, even metallic, may be added in any proportion.

The method of preparation of masses of this class is as follows. The gum-lac is first dissolved in the alcohol; the total amount of the pigment, naphthalene, soap, oil and acetic acid, is then added to the gum-lac solution. The whole is boiled until it becomes suflicient y thick, and is then somewhat cooled, then adding the glycerin and heating to 60-80 C. for a sufliciently long time, while stirring, but without any abruptmovements, in order. that noair bubbles shall enter the mixture.

When the mass has reached a certain consistency, the egg-yolk previously beaten with alcohol so as to form a homogeneous mass is added.

'The mass is then definitely cooled, and is ready Gum-lac 50 grams White alcohol varnish V4 litre Liquid soap 25 grams Linseed oil 15 do Acetic acid 5 do Talc, or potato flour. 20 do The method of preparation is analogous to that oi the alcoholic colouring masses.

When the printing plate has been thus produced, the printing is performed as usual by placing said plate in the known machines, or in like manner.

The plate or the object which is to receive the reproduction may be covered with the solvent, by using spraying means, a roller, or in any other suitable way. It should be observed that owing to a more or less prolonged action of heat, it is possible to obtain at will a more or less elastic plate or a hard plate. The elastic'plate is specially adapted for printing upon objects having a concave or a convex shape.

The thichiess oi the plate will depend upon the nature or the object on which the printing is to be eilected, and upon the number of reproductions to be made. 01d and hardened plates may be employed, provided they are subjected to the action of vapours of water or of alcohol in order to render them elastic. In the case oi plates prepared with aqueous masses, the printing can be performed simply in a damp atmosphere, without the use of solvents.

Obviously, the said invention is not limited to the operations herein described, which are given solely by way of example.

Having-now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. Colouring masses to be used for the manuiacture of printing plates for polychromatlc reproduction comprising approximately:

Pigment sufllcient amount.

2. A printing plate constituted with colouring masses, comprising approximately:

Grams Dextrin 10 Glycerin 10 Soap 10 Talc 10 Naphthalene 0,5 Water l6 Pigment suflicient amount.

SERGE TCHECHONIN. 

